SWAN Capital LLC Lowers Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

SWAN Capital LLC cut its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 38.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 200 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 125 shares during the quarter. SWAN Capital LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $99,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 23.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Macquarie raised their target price on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $549.16.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock opened at $521.12 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $512.46 and its 200-day moving average is $477.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company has a market cap of $478.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $404.32 and a twelve month high of $535.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.39 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 19.97%.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, digital partners, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts; prepaid programs services; and commercial credit, debit, and prepaid payment products and solutions.